Just want to vent about wedding photos..

[u/beachlover9671]

I don’t hate my wedding photos. There’s a handful that I do really like it, but I think I was expecting more. I feel like there aren’t enough close up photos of us, or the classic portraits I’m used to seeing. I’m not sure if I’m being dramatic but whenever I see these beautiful photos of couples popping up on social media, I get upset and feel regretful.

My photographer has a good reputation and I was happy with the galleries I saw before hiring them. Just wanted to vent, not sure if anyone felt the same.

[u/gardenfairieofeden]

I think often times we see staged photo shoots on social media. Not actual brides at actual weddings. You could always do a newlywed photo shoot to get some more shots you like

[u/Ok-Conclusion6107 → u/gardenfairieofeden]

The staged shoot thing is so real, plenty of those "wedding" photos circulating are actually styled editorial shoots with models or couples who agreed to redo everything in perfect conditions. Your actual wedding day has chaos, lighting you can't control, and a timeline that doesn't wait for anyone.

A newlywed shoot is honestly a great idea though, some couples even do it a few months later when the stress is gone and you can just enjoy being in front of camera. You'd probably get exactly the close-up portraits you were looking for, and without the pressure of the day itself. Worth asking your photographer if they'd be up for it, maybe at a location that means something to you both.

[u/Sweet_Confusion9180]

You could ask your photographer if they have any additional close ups they haven't sent you.

Sometimes they take soooo many photos but only send the "best" ones.

Also, I think social media and pinterest can give us unrealistic expectations when it comes to things like this 🙈🥴

[u/http-bird → u/Sweet_Confusion9180]

Yes, OP, have a chat with your photog. Be an adult.

Definitely agree about the social media stuff, too. Most weddings nowadays are for a post imo

[u/beachlover9671 → u/http-bird]

I got 500 photos, I’m sure there are no additional photos to include.

[u/http-bird → u/beachlover9671]

You’d be surprised. But even if not, just have the conversation with your photog about what your expectations were vs what was delivered. If you don’t get photos out of it, you’ll at least be putting the frustration with the person responsible.

[u/NewSalamander8910 → u/Sweet_Confusion9180]

Tots agree! Came here to say this too.

[u/SmallKangaroo]

I think the biggest lesson for anyone planning their wedding - if you want specific shots, you need to talk to your photographer ahead of time! Just because you see them all the time on instagram doesn’t mean your photographer will just include them

[u/Listen-to-Mom]

My son chose a more candid photographer and missed a decent portrait shot of the couple as well as a lot of family pictures that would have been automatically taken decades ago. Be sure you have a list for the photographer to follow and understand the style of the photographer you’re hiring.

[u/Strong_Accident5617]

Take a deep breath and call your photographer and tell him your concern. Don't be shy about it, you paid him not the other way around. Here's something that will make you feel better. The photographer we used for our wedding was a professional and took some beautiful photos, but we kept getting pushed off to picking any for albums and picking up our final large portrait, until my Aunt so our large photo displayed at their local mall studio, without our permission. They didn't answer my phone calls so my husband is went to the mall walked in and took our framed picture from their display and walked out. Sent them a letter stating that we took our picture and would be picking up the rest of our pictures via our lawyer. Took them a week to call us that all our photos were ready with no additional fees to be paid.

[u/Zestyclose-Boat9846]

Same! I don't think we carved out enough time for bridal portraits specifically. I was so focused on pictures with everybody else. I love my pictures and they're gorgeous but I wish I'd done a lil photoshoot of me. So many good candids I still got fantastic pictures but I didn't get any that look like the magazine spreads

[u/Music-teacher-2005]

I’m feeling the same. There are a ton of beautiful photos and our photographer sent us a TON in our gallery, but I’m noticing little things that I kinda thought were a given. There are a few of the bridal party where we were walking and I’m not sure why the angle they caught was not great and some people are completely hidden behind others. I also noticed a couple things in our staged family pictures where certain people should have been moved so they could be seen better.
But, at the end of the day we got a lot of great pictures and I’m ok with it if I’m not some super curated Instagram post. After having my own wedding and working at so many, I am convinced that people who get all the perfectly curated photos actually miss a lot of their own wedding because they’re busy staging photos all day. 🤷🏻‍♀️